(2023) 100% Verdejo, this was made in a combination of clay amphora and large French oak vats, with regular pumping over to extract colour and phenolics from the skins. The usually punchy, elderflower aromatics of the Verdejo have been subsumed into much more herby, citrus aromas, a touch of kaolin and then clove-studded orange spice. In the mouth, again none of the tropical fruitiness one might expect from Verdejo, this is dry and savoury, invoking a hessian-like image, nutty and spicy into a super dry finish.
(2021) El Vinculo is part of the Grupo Pesquera, and this from 25-year-old vines in La Mancha, at 650- to 750-metres altitude, is aged 24 months in American oak. Bright cherry/ruby red, the nose is attractive, like a pot-pourri of berries, spices, vanilla and tobacco. In the mouth there is surprising energy and spark given the nose promised a more lush character perhaps, but there is plenty of depth of fruit, there is that vanilla and light woodsmoky fragrance, and the balance is good: tannins tight, but the acid rippling across the finish.
(2019) From La Mancha in the south of Spain, a Chardonnay that is unoaked, but four months of ageing on the lees has added some creamy richness to the apple and pear fruit, Well-balanced, with good lemony acidity, if simple. No UK retailer at time of review.
(2017) Super deep and glossy in colour, this unusual Spanish Malbec has a soaring aromatic, really expressive of the variety's floral-touched, kirsch like character, a touch of blackberry and light smokiness too. In the mouth the approachable delights continue to unfold, with sweet and ripe black fruit, gentle tannins and a pinch of tart acidity to keep it fresh. It's a charmer rather than a bruiser, and all the better for that.
